Cleveland Browns: Two-round 2018 NFL Mock Draft after blockbuster trades
![INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MARCH 02: Penn State running back Saquon Barkley looks on during the 2018 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium on March 2, 2018 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MARCH 02: Penn State running back Saquon Barkley looks on during the 2018 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium on March 2, 2018 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/f2db5a0322d5109a12e230ff6a185a7854a8e08777ff4133c41c02311fca7b0f.jpg)
Tyrod Taylor is a quality quarterback who can help the Cleveland Browns play at a high enough level to win games. The general consensus about this trade, however, is that giving up a third-round draft pick for Taylor means turning him into a bridge between the present and future.
If that proves to be the case, then it would behoove the Browns to select Josh Allen with the No. 4 overall selection in the 2018 NFL Draft.
Taylor has the tools to lead the Browns to team success in 2018, which he’s signed through at a reasonable $16 million. He’ll be a free agent in 2019, however, and is far from guaranteed to even want to re-sign in Cleveland.
Thus, the Browns select the franchise quarterback and give Allen the year on the sidelines that most agree he’ll need in the NFL.
Regardless of how you feel about his NFL readiness, Allen has the highest ceiling of any quarterback in this draft class. He’s the prototype from a physical perspective, with the size, athleticism, and generational arm strength to be a genuine superstar.
With a year behind Taylor in an offense that will have time to jell with a more established quarterback, Allen could have the cushion he needs to develop into the star he can be.